Two-wheeled vehicle manufacturer Kymco has agreed to pay $65m for a stake in India-based electric scooter maker Twenty Two Motors sized at more than 25%, the Economic Times has reported.
Twenty Two has created a scooter that will have an electric powertrain as well as Bluetooth connectivity and an artificial intelligence-equipped system that predicts maintenance issues, automatically ordering replacement parts in advance of a breakdown.
Kymco provided the funding as part of a strategic alliance agreed on Tuesday that will involve the Taiwan-based corporate bringing Ionex, its electric vehicle charging and battery-swapping ecosystem, to India to facilitate the growth of Twenty Two’s business.
More precisely, Twenty Two’s Flow scooter will be equipped with Kymco’s removable Ionex battery together with a reserve battery that will be fixed to the bike.
Twenty Two had previously raised $1.6m from angel investors including Ishwar Singh and Farhaan Shabbir, in an April 2017 pre-series A round.
Kymco chairman Allen Ko said: “Kymco is on a social mission to change the modern transportation and India is one of most important markets from that point of view.
“We found a natural partner in Twenty Two Motors as we have synergies in terms of vision, technological innovation and outlook. Together we aim to change the landscape of urban mobility in India.”
Photo courtesy of Twenty Two Motors Pvt. Ltd.
